Broken leg won't break spirit of this young Swan

The blood-curdling sound of a bone snapping instantly told Gary Rohan this was serious. As he grasped the painful area, shock immediately hit the young Swan, along with the enormity of the situation.

It was only the second minute of the Swans' clash against North Melbourne at the SCG two weeks ago. The 20-year-old had started the afternoon to perfection in Sydney's forward line. A lead, a mark and true kick for a goal. A minute later he was writhing in pain on the ground, his leg and season shattered.

Down and out ... Rohan writhes in pain at the SCG. Photo: Quentin Jones

Rohan had chased a ball in the Swans' forward 50-metre arc. As he approached it from one angle, North's Lindsay Thomas came in from Rohan's side. Thomas's foot slid into the contest and, at pace, collected Rohan's right leg above the ankle.

''I'd kicked that first goal and I thought: 'I'm in for a good day.' The next minute I'm on stretcher heading off the ground,'' Rohan said yesterday.

Doing his best … Gary Rohan, on crutches at the SCG yesterday, admits he won’t enjoy being a spectator but will support his teammates ‘‘as much as I can’’ after breaking his leg against North Melbourne last month. Photo: Brendan Esposito

''I knew straight away, as soon as he got me, I was in trouble. I heard the snap and I went down to hold where it was sore and my bone was sticking through my leg [skin]. I could feel the bone. That's when I yelled to the club doctor to get over here.

''I went into shock first, for about five minutes, then I realised what was going on. What it felt like was as if someone was just burning my leg.

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''I was in a lot of pain and it's a bit strange but I thought straight away: 'There goes the season.' Then I was just worried about what was coming up next, and what it all means.''

As he left the field on the stretcher, despite having his bone poking through the skin, and his season seemingly over, Rohan gave the thumbs up to the SCG crowd. He says he wanted to let the crowd know he was ''fine and wasn't dying''.

At quarter-time Rohan was taken to hospital where it was discovered he had broken both bones in his leg. He underwent surgery and had a rod inserted with four screws, from ''just below my knee, to just above my ankle''.

''It will stay in there all the time now. They said I can get it out after two years if I want, but it doesn't worry me, and the doctors said it won't be a problem for me playing again,'' Rohan said. ''That was one of the first things I asked: 'When will I be back.' They have estimated I will be able to start running in October, so that is the start of pre-season which is pretty good that I will be ready to start with everyone else.

''That is one of the bright sides to this, that I can come back and I'm confident I can. And I've had some good support too, not only from my own teammates. I've had [Fremantle's] Michael Barlow [who broke his tibia and fibula in a collision with a teammate in 2010] and a couple of other boys contact me and have told me some of the extra things they did to help them get back successfully.

''It's feeling pretty good now, and I've had no pain since I got out of hospital, and I think everything has really sunk in now. Sure, it's pretty shattering - this is the first time I've ever broken a bone - but that's footy.''

Since he left hospital late last week, Rohan has become a regular in the stands at the team's training. He says he wants to be as close to the playing group as he can, and ''do whatever I can to help them out''.

On Monday his plaster cast comes off and his stitches come out, and he will begin wearing a ''moonboot''. The club's physiotherapist will give Rohan a program to help in the rehabilitation and his long road back to the field will be under way.

''I'll probably spend a bit of time here and also go back home [to Cobden, Victoria] for a bit as well, and when I find out what the physio program is, then I'll know how long I will spend at home,'' Rohan said.

''I won't find it fun being a spectator. I've never liked sitting on the sideline watching footy - even when I was back in Cobden it was hard watching and not playing - but as I said I'll be there to support the boys as much as I can.''

One thing Rohan won't be doing is watching the footage of the incident again. ''I have watched it. I looked at it when I was in hospital but now I can't look at it,'' he said. ''Each time I go to bed I think about it. I try not to, but I can't stop.''